Murtagh couldn’t really remember if he was allowed to be here, unsupervised, but he was pretty sure either Papa or Mammina or one of the bears would come find him if he wandered too far. He didn’t mean to wander too far, you know. He liked his family, he enjoyed being close to them and the protection and love they provided him. He did not want to escape nor did he want them to experience any sort of worry that his absence might cause. He simply… wanted to explore. And the frozen waterfalls that surrounded his home were the perfect place to start this morning.

He might have felt more guilty if he wasn’t working under the constant assumption that someone was following him, or just keeping an eye on him. It was always safest - there were eight eyes present at his birth and eight eyes that could keep tabs on the little colt. Not including the extended family and, well, Murtagh wasn’t even sure he could keep those faces straight!

A couple days ago, Murtagh had taken on the idea that his own bear cub was waiting somewhere to be found, and that when he found it he would have someone his size that he could play and explore with. Papas and Mamminas were all well and good, you know, but they were just so big.

So he was on the hunt! Whether it was another foal or his bear cub that he found, there was a mission and he chose to accept it.

Of course, there were a great many distractions along the way. He took a roundabout path to get to the big waterfall he liked the best, sticking to the trees and anywhere that provided some protection from the Frostfall breeze that was stirring through the valley today. Overhead, the sky was a pale periwinkle, the sun finally starting to peak above the rocky ledges that protected them. Well, he had his own theories on what - or who - really protected the herd but he’d let the rocks think that they were lending a hand. Lavender eyes glanced on some of the ones to his left as he trotted along through the snow, giving them a pitying look.

Finally, his path lead to the waterfall and he stopped right at the edge of the frozen water, examining both it and the great frozen structure of once-cascading water. It wasn’t very likely that his bear cub was hidden in there, unless it was like Nevoso and preferred the ice and snow where he could blend in.

Which of the great bears would his cub be like?

While he thought about it, one curious hoof reached out to touch the surface of the ice ever-so-gently, before recoiling quickly. Huh. It seemed to hold pretty well, but it made a scary sound when it creaked! He really hoped there was no bear cub hiding in the waterfall because he wasn't even sure he could get there!